The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has resumed toll collection across national highways with the new lockdown guidelines coming into force but truck operators opposed the decision, demanding waiver of toll charges for at least six months.
Traffic on toll plazas across national highways remained lean at around 20 per cent of the usual, according to an official from NHAI.
NHAI had suspended toll collection across the country on March 25 after the ministry of home affairs (MHA) issued guidelines for the Covid-induced nationwide lockdown. While the government has extended the lockdown till May 3, a phased lifting of curbs on several sectors was allowed.
The ministry of road transport and highways had asked NHAI to prepare for resumption of toll operations, noting that user fee collection contributes to the government exchequer and also provides financial strength to NHAI in terms of budgetary support.
For the period between March 25 and April 19, the authority is to incur a liability of around Rs 1,110 crore for non-operation of toll plazas.
The situation on ground, in terms of availability of truck drivers, however, remains grim, adding to the pain of transporters.
According to Naveen Kumar Gupta, secretary general at All India Motor Transport Congress. (AIMTC),“Drivers who have gone back, they don’t want to come, and those who do, they either don’t have mode of transport available, or are facing social pressure in their villages,”
In a separate statement issued, AIMTC said that there was ‘complete chaos amid unclear policy guidelines at ground level.”It further added, “Starting of toll at this point in time is a bad decision. No direct relief to transporters has come from the government. There is no earning. In spite of all this pressure, they were standing with the country to maintain supply of essentials,”
Toll fee amounts to 18-20 per cent of total operational cost for transporters.
Transporters are able to deploy only around 15 per cent of their fleet as availability of divers and migrant laborers, who help in loading or unloading of goods, remains scant, said Pradeep Singal, chairman of All India Transporters’ Welfare Association (AITWA).
